How to find a yard?!

[C722]

How do I go about finding and buying a yard for a small construction company? Cannot find anything at all advertised in the usual places - any advice?! Location is Bristol/North Somerset area. Could I buy a field and convert it with a hard standing etc?

[loafer123]

Really difficult to find nowadays, as many have been developed for residential or commercial.

Speak to your local commercial agents and keep an eye out for spare suitable land owned by the council etc.

Could you take space on a farm, or in a railway arch?

[Keep it stiff]

C722 said:

How do I go about finding and buying a yard for a small construction company? Cannot find anything at all advertised in the usual places - any advice?! Location is Bristol/North Somerset area. Could I buy a field and convert it with a hard standing etc?

Converting a field to hard standing will be planning problematical, I suggest you drop that idea.

As to finding a yard, it is not common to see these listed via the usual web searches. I have searched out many such solutions and my approach has always been the same, get in the car, look about in typical semi-industrial areas and start asking about. Less easy at the moment of course. If it is leased space you are looking for try looking for large industrial units that have external space beyond their needs, if you can find an owner-occupier you might find they would be interested to let some space. Until recently I was involved with a tenant who had leased space in use in a shared yard behind an industrial unit as a scaffold store/operation.

No substitute for leg work!

[cptsideways]

No shortage of disused dairy farms round that way. Get into some agriculture sites etc.

[Jamescrs]

Commercial estate agents are the type of people who deal with this, I was one a very long time ago however a lot of owners of such sites will just stick their own board outside as well and try free sites such as Gumtree.

[singlecoil]

Only considering purchase is going to reduce your choices, is leasing really not an option?

[C722]

Great, thanks for the advice. I shall keep my eyes peeled and will contact some local commercial agents.

[joshcowin]

C722 said:

Great, thanks for the advice. I shall keep my eyes peeled and will contact some local commercial agents.

We are a small construction company and have a yard.

We keep a skip and 3 shipping containers with some covered storage.

It just becomes a dumping ground and you just end up taking things back to a yard that never get used!

Unless you have big plant I would just rent a shipping container.

[C722]

We already have a yard, but have outgrown it and would ideally like to recycle our own hardcore and store stone.

Definitely can become a tip quickly if not disciplined!

[Danm1les]

We rent some yards out at the back of the offices to various companies, there is always people knocking on the door to see if any are coming up! They always seem to be in demand.

We are near Heathrow so cannot really help though.

[steveT350C]

Try garden centres, they often have spare land. It’s where we are based.

[singlecoil]

OP is looking to buy, garden centres, farms, all the usual sorts of places won't be looking to sell.

[fridaypassion]

Just keep asking everyone you come into contact with. I managed to get a freehold unit this way. They are like gold dust in our area all of the commercial property is old family money owned but persevere and you'll find something.